Bitget beginner's guide: Understanding futures fees

When trading futures on Bitget, it's essential to understand the fee structure. Bitget's futures fees consist of three main components: transaction fees and funding fees. This guide breaks down how each type of fee is calculated, the factors that influence them, and provides examples to help beginners get started quickly. Fee structures vary slightly between perpetual and delivery futures, and we will cover both.

Transaction fees

Bitget charges two types of transaction fees on futures trades: maker and taker fees. A maker adds liquidity by placing orders, and usually pays a lower fee. On the other hand, a taker removes liquidity by filling orders, and typically pays a higher fee. Here are the standard fee rates for both futures types (with USDT-margined perpetual futures as an example). Actual rates are subject to the official announcements.

• Maker fee: 0.02%; Taker fee: 0.06%.

Transaction fee = order value × transaction fee rate, where order value = (quantity × price)

Example:

Trader A places a market order to buy 1 BTCUSDT futures. Trader B places a limit order to sell 1 BTCUSDT futures. If the trade is executed at 60,000 USDT, then:

Taker fee for Trader A = 1 × 60,000 × 0.06% = 36 USDT

Maker fee for Trader B = 1 × 60,000 × 0.02% = 12 USDT

Funding fees

Funding fees apply only to perpetual futures. They are used to balance the price between long and short positions and keep perpetual futures prices aligned with spot prices. Funding fees are usually settled every eight hours (12:00 AM, 8:00 AM, and 4:00 PM UTC+8). The funding rate is determined by the relative buying and selling pressure in the market. When the funding rate is positive, longs pay shorts. When the funding rate is negative, shorts pay longs.

Funding fee details:

	Fee rate > 0	Fee rate < 0
Long position holders	Pay funding fees	Receive funding fee
Short position holders	Receive funding fee	Pay funding fees

Funding fee formula:
Funding fee = position value × funding fee rate

Example:

Assume you hold a long BTCUSDT perpetual futures position worth 20,000 USDT. If the current funding rate is 0.01%, you will pay 20,000 × 0.01% = 2 USDT. If the rate is −0.01%, you will receive 2 USDT instead. Delivery futures does not incur funding fees, as they settle at expiration and do not require price alignment with the spot market.

Impact of VIP levels

You can reduce your transaction fees and unlock perks based on your VIP level. VIP levels are determined by your spot and futures trading volume, asset balance, and BGB holdings. If you meet the VIP2 threshold based on your spot trading volume, but only VIP1 for futures trading volume, you will still enjoy VIP2-level fee discounts.

Conclusion

Transaction fees and funding fees together form the total cost of trading futures on Bitget. By understanding these components and monitoring your leverage, liquidity, and VIP status, you can optimize your trading strategy and reduce costs. For more information, refer to the official Bitget fee schedule.